August 2021 Recap

August 2021 Recap

what i’ve been up to

Hi friends! šŸ‘‹šŸ» Can you believe that it’s the end of August? Iā€™m glad because itā€™s almost autumn and I have some big changes in my life but there is always the existential dread that comes with time. Anyway, August started as a regular meh month for me but it has ended so much better

I finally got my ear vacuumed! If youā€™ve been following me on Twitter for a while, youā€™ll probably know that I got some shampoo in my left ear back in October and ended up with a blocked ear. After many different types of ear drops and phone appointments (for my ear which needed to be looked at), I eventually got referred to the ENT department in the hospital and after a couple of months of waiting, finally had the appointment to get the wax removed. Iā€™m usually a relatively healthy person so Iā€™ve never needed to go to the hospital for anything more than a blood test but this was easily the strangest feeling thing Iā€™ve had done. But I can hear out of both ears again so I’m not going to complain much.

In even better news than my ear being clear, I finally got a job! I haven’t had a job since 2014 when I quit to focus on my studies and finding work has been unbelievably difficult since I finished my Master’s degree in 2017. I’m technically still studying since I’m taking on an apprentice position, but I’m glad to have finally wedged my foot in the door after almost four years of being unsuccessful. And as a huge bonus, I’m doing what I’ve always wanted to do and working in a library! I don’t start until September but I expect my posting schedule to slow down since I’ll be focused on that instead of blogging.

It was my birthday on Monday, and we went to the recently opened House of Frankenstein in Bath! I have the same birthday as Mary Shelley so going there for my birthday made perfect sense. This is a new interactive attraction that opened in May of this year, and it is so cool. I already knew most of the stuff about Shelley and Frankenstein, but it was still interesting to fill in any gaps in my knowledge.

The best part is the 8 ft tall Monster in the Laboratory, which is a functional animatronic made to be accurate to the book.

A photo of a life-size animatronic of Frankensteinā€™s Monster.

My photos don’t do this justice because it makes such subtle movements that they’re barely noticeable. This isn’t like a clunky old Disneyland animatronic, this one breathes and blinks and looks like itā€™s alive.

Today Iā€™m going to do a ā€œsafariā€ at Longleat and then venture into the zoo itself before heading home for some well-deserved sleep. I always sleep terribly in hotels and I just want my own bed at this point.

what I postedĀ 

what I read

  • SoldierĀ by Julie KagawaĀ – Currently reading!

what I watchedĀ 

Movies:

  • Fear Street Part 1: 1994 – I wanted to like this movie so much but all of the romantic plotlines ruined it for me. Deenaā€™s a biphobic mess, Samā€™s a wet blanket, Kate and Joshā€™s relationship comes out of complete nowhere, and all of the characters were annoying. I went in expecting something akin to Scream but got a teen melodrama instead. Also, I know that this is based on books made for teens, but they could have done better than just one single instance of gore.
  • Fear Street Part 2: 1978 – This one was better than the first part but I still switched off a lot.
  • Fear Street Part 3: 1666 – The pilgrims from the 17th century were English but for some reason everyone here is Irish??? And one guy does such a bad job it comes out as Jamaican???
  • The Suicide Squad – This was really entertaining but James Gunn’s sense of humour is so crass that it becomes juvenile after ten minutes. I can only take so many dick jokes.
  • Frankenhooker – I wanted to like this so much because I love Frankenstein parodies but the main character is so annoying that I just couldn’t do it. Also, I’m convinced that one scene only exists because the director wanted to film a ton of gratuitous shots of naked women.
  • The Fourth Kind – Trying to pass off fake “found” footage as real is one thing, but I really draw the line at an alien movie that doesn’t have any aliens in it. Tsk tsk.
  • Censor – I feel like this hits different when you’re British, or if you’re British and was alive when the video nasty list was a thing.
  • Ju-On: The Curse I watched this on YouTube thanks to a few kind souls who uploaded the whole series and the low-quality footage adds to the creepiness.
  • The Night House – Rebecca Hall breathes heavily for 110 minutes and I enjoyed it.
  • Ju-On: The Curse 2 – There were only 45 minutes of new footage. Why šŸ™ƒ
  • Ju-On: The Grudge – Charlie decided to jump on me while I was watching this and that makes it the scariest one so far.
  • Ju-On: The Grudge 2 – I’m even more terrified of pregnancy and childbirth now.
  • Candyman (2021) – I think I enjoyed this one more than the first Candyman, but that’s probably because I could hear this one while I watched the original at home with no captions.
  • Ju-On: Black Ghost – The fashion and hairstyles in these movies are so late 2000s, I love it.

TV:

  • RuPaulā€™s Drag Race All-Stars – TEAM šŸ‘šŸ» KYLIE šŸ‘šŸ»
  • Twin PeaksĀ – Yes hello, Iā€™m soft for Dale Cooper šŸ„ŗ
  • My Name is Earl – Why do I find Jason Lee hotter when he looks a mess compared to how he looks when heā€™s clean-shaven and not dressed like a slob? šŸ¤­
  • Jersey Shore: Family VacationĀ – Iā€™ve watched this show since the very first episode back in the late 2000s so I have no shame in enjoying it.
  • Botched – Again, I like trash TV.

books I got

Bought:

  • A Closed and Common Orbit by Becky Chambers
  • Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers

Gifted:

  • Mirrorā€™s Edge by Scott Westerfeld

talk to me!Ā 

How was your August? Did you get up to anything exciting?

8 Comments

  1. Avatar September 2, 2021 / 6:31 pm

    Oh my goodness, I didn’t even know that could happen to ears! There’s something new for me to be worried about! XD I’m glad you got it sorted. Wait what? Romantic plot lines in Fear Street?? I’m suddenly glad I steered clear of those. I’m cracking up at your watchlist for the month. Are we the same person? I only watch horror movies but I watch a LOT of reality TV. XD

    • Louise
      Louise
      Author
      September 16, 2021 / 8:02 pm

      So many people rate Fear Street so highly but the romances ruined it so much for me. I get that it’s based on a series of books for teens, but there are plenty of things for teens that don’t have romance in them šŸ™ƒ

  2. Avatar September 5, 2021 / 6:58 am

    Blocked ears are the worst! I used to get that a lot though it is usually just a phone to the doctor’s office here and the assistant will clear it for you. It really sucks you had to wait so long. Suddenly having an ear you can properly hear out of is such a weird trip.

    Happy belated birthday!

    Also yeay for Becky Chambers books!

    • Louise
      Louise
      Author
      September 16, 2021 / 7:59 pm

      They really are the worst! I keep getting paranoid that it’s blocked again but it’s not šŸ˜…

  3. Avatar September 13, 2021 / 2:34 am

    Glad you got your ear issue taken care of finally. That must have been such a pain to deal with! And I’m really sorry to hear that it’s taken you so long to find a job after getting your Master’s, but I’m glad you’re getting your foot in the door for library work. Is your Master’s in Library Science or something else?

    • Louise
      Louise
      Author
      September 16, 2021 / 6:34 pm

      My Masters is in English literature, which is probably why itā€™s taken so long to get into a library job. It’s an apprentice position so Iā€™ll get a library science qualification and a permanent job at the end of it šŸ™‚

  4. Avatar
    Danielle Hammelef
    September 18, 2021 / 2:39 pm

    I’m so glad you found a job! Here in the US, restaurants, hotels, even construction companies are having trouble finding people who want to work. Everywhere I go there are help wanted signs. Happy late birthday! That’s awesome that you and Mary Shelley share a birthday.

  5. Avatar September 21, 2021 / 3:25 am

    Ahh happy that you got the job šŸ‘šŸ¼šŸ‘šŸ¼ I hope youā€™ll like it there ā¤ļøā¤ļø
    Ear vaccuming sure sounds odd .-. Mother had to do one of thoses too actually.

    I did watched the first fear street.. but splitted onto two as I was watching it with a friend- and we saw the second like a month after šŸ¤£ I should pick up the others on my own now- as weā€™ve kinda part ways a little as I cant stand woth a unvaxxed with my mother :/

    Happy september xx

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